The Boston Symphony Orchestra announces that the Boston Symphony Chamber Players will perform at the Casals Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, May 31 at 4 p.m. The ensemble, comprised of the orchestra’s first-chair string and wind players, marks its first visit to Puerto Rico.
The Casals Festival celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, also marking the 150th anniversary of Pablo Casals’ birth. The two-week festival runs May 23-June 6 and features the Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico. The ongoing collaboration between the orchestra and Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción inspired the plan for the ensemble’s visit.
The BSCP program takes place in Pablo Casals Symphony Hall and features Samuel Barber’s Summer Music for wind quintet, Carlos Simon’s Gardner Suite, and Anton Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 2 in G. The BSCP performed the world premiere of Simon’s work in January at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall in Boston. Simon was appointed to a three-year term as BSO Composer Chair in 2024.
It is a great honor for us to take part in this year’s Casals Festival, marking the festival’s 70th year and the 150th anniversary of Casals’ birth, said Nathan Cole, BSCP artistic director and BSO concertmaster. The Boston Symphony Chamber Players has toured widely all over the world since its founding in 1966 but has never before had the opportunity to perform in Puerto Rico, so this will be an exciting first for the ensemble. Our May 31 concert program includes a new work by Carlos Simon, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Composer Chair, as well as chamber works by Dvořák and Barber. We also are excited to be able to work with students at Escuelas Libres de Música and the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico during our visit.
Three of the BSCP players, concertmaster and principal violin Nathan Cole, principal flute Lorna McGhee, and principal horn Richard (Gus) Sebring, will give master classes with local music students. The other BSO principals in the ensemble are Steven Ansell, Blaise Déjardin, John Ferrillo, William R. Hudgins, Haldan Martinson, Caleb Quillen, and Richard Svoboda.
The next BSCP concert in Boston takes place Friday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Symphony Hall.
Tickets to attend the May 31 BSCP concert and other performances at the Casals Festival are available through the festival box office.
For more information, visit apply.necmusic.edu.